Page Views

Did you Know?

White Sharks are also known as Great White Sharks, Carcharodon carcharias(Latin)The name comes from two Greek words meaning "sharp" and "tooth" and White Pointer Sharks.

Their bodies are counter-shaded with a charcoal to black, grey or even dark brown top (dorsal surface) and completely white underneath (ventral surface)

Counter-shading makes it difficult for their prey to see them

Great White Sharks have three major fins:

Dorsal fin - the one on top that can stick out of the water like in the movie Jaws.

Pectoral fins - there are two of these, one on each side of the shark

Caudal fin - the fin on the tail of the shark

One of the most successful predators in the world

Live on a diverse diet of fish, other sharks, seals, dolphins and even scavenge on dead whales

They have many different ways to catch their food from chasing fish, to sneaking up on stingrays to attacking from below when trying to eat seal

Have taste buds inside their mouth and throat and are more fussy than other sharks like tiger sharks

Have a lateral line made of special hair-like cells which runs from their tail to their head and can detect small water vibrations and currentsUse their electrosense to detect the electric field given off by all living animals and can even find prey hidden under the sand

They are sensitive to low frequency sounds as produced by struggling prey

They use body language and smell to communicate with one another

Deepest recorded dive was over 1200

Can breach out of the water over 2m into the air

One of the most widely distributed sharks found in all oceans, except the polar seas

Areas with the highest concentrations are Western Cape, South Africa, South Australia, West coast USA, Guadalupe Island Mexico and New Zealand

Found near the coast and in deep oceanic waters

Grow slowly only becoming mature after 10 years (males) and 15 years (females)

Live for more than 60 years

Reproduce slowly with litters of 2 - 10 baby sharks, called pups

Gestation is thought to be over 12 months

Give birth to live young (viviparous)Each pup is between 1.2 - 1.7 meters long when it is born

There is no parental care

World's largest predatory shark/fish growing up to 6.1 metres

Females grow bigger than males

They weigh over 2000 kgs

They Have Excellent SensesOne reason sharks, including great whites, are such good hunters is because they have excellent senses including smell, hearing, and sight. They also have a sensitive electro-receptive sense called the Ampullae of Lorenzini. Their sense of smell is so good that they can detect blood in the water from up to three miles away.

They can see in the day and at night and can see colour

They don't have eyelids, but instead roll their eyes back to protect them

Sometimes they will stick their heads out of the water which is called spyhopping

They have the strongest smell out of all sharks and can smell one drop of blood in a million parts water